Photo social network Instagram is preparing to launch a couple of new useful features, including a mute option and a "You're All Caught Up" indicator. The mute feature allows you to hide photos from specific users in your feed without having to unfollow them. And the "You're All Caught Up" indicator shows you whether you have seen all of the photos and videos posted within the last 48 hours by users you follow.

Mute Feature

Instagram's "Mute" FeatureInstagram

The mute feature has been one of the most requested for years because it enables users to take better control of their feed. And it is akin to the follow/unfollow feature built into Facebook, the Mute feature on Twitter and Snapchat's "Do Not Disturb." From a security standpoint, users that are muted on Instagram will not receive any kind of notification that it happened.

Instagram decided to add this feature to make the feed more personalized and confirmed that there was user demand for it. "We've also heard it may be a useful tool for managing complex social dynamics," said an Instagram spokesperson via BuzzFeed.

If you want to mute an account, then you can do so by tapping on the "..." menu in a user's profile and selecting "Mute Posts" or "Mute Posts and Story." You will still be able to see the posts that were muted by visiting that user's profile. And you will continue receiving notifications for photos that you were tagged in, even if that user was muted. Plus you will continue receiving direct messages from that user if they send them.

Instagram already offers the ability to mute and unmute stories by tapping and holding on the profile picture of that person and selecting “Mute (username).” I am assuming that this feature will still remain so that users will still have an option to mute stories, but still see a user’s posts.

Instagram's mute feature is being rolled out in the coming weeks so you may not see that option yet.

As mentioned earlier, the "You're All Caught Up" feature keeps users up-to-date about whether you have seen all of the photos and videos posted by users you follow within the last 48 hours. It is unknown when this feature will be released.

Instagram’s feed used to appear in chronological order back in 2016, but then the algorithm was tweaked so that it would surface posts that you would more likely be interested in at the top. This feature can be essential for users that spend a lot of time on the photo social network as a cue that it might be time to take a break after noticing that they are all caught up.

Earlier this month, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom had confirmed that a “Usage Insights” feature is also being tested. It is believed that this feature would show users how long they spend using the photo social network. "Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it's the responsibility of all companies, to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously," wrote Systrom in a tweet.

Instagram reported it had over 800 million monthly active users as of September 2017. And about a year ago, Instagram said that users under age 25 were spending an average of 32+ minutes a day and users 25 and over were spending 24+ minutes a day using the photo social network.

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